Ordered successive interference cancellation receiver processing for multipath channels

ABSTRACT

Techniques to process a number of “received” symbol streams in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) system with multipath channels such that improved performance may be achieved when using successive interference cancellation (SIC) processing. In an aspect, metrics indicative of the quality or “goodness” of a “detected” symbol stream are provided. These metrics consider the frequency selective response of the multipath channels used to transmit the symbol stream. For example, the metrics may relate to (1) an overall channel capacity for all transmission channels used for the symbol stream, or (2) an equivalent signal-to-interference noise ratio (SNR) of an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel modeling these transmission channels. In another aspect, techniques are provided to process the received symbol streams, using SIC processing, to recover a number of transmitted symbol streams. The particular order in which the symbol streams are recovered is determined based on the metrics determined for symbol streams detected at each SIC processing stage.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO RELATED APPLICATIONS

This Application is a continuation of application Ser. No. 10/120,966,filed Apr. 9, 2002, now U.S. Pat. No. 6,801,580 B2.

BACKGROUND

1. Field

The present invention relates generally to data communication, and morespecifically to techniques for performing successive interferencecancellation (SIC) processing at a receiver of a multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) communication system with multipath channels.

2. Background

In a wireless communication system, an RF modulated signal from atransmitter may reach a receiver via a number of propagation paths. Thecharacteristics of the propagation paths typically vary over time due toa number of factors such as fading and multipath. To provide diversityagainst deleterious path effects and improve performance, multipletransmit and receive antennas may be used. If the propagation pathsbetween the transmit and receive antennas are linearly independent(i.e., a transmission on one path is not formed as a linear combinationof the transmissions on the other paths), which is generally true to atleast an extent, then the likelihood of correctly receiving a datatransmission increases as the number of antennas increases. Generally,diversity increases and performance improves as the number of transmitand receive antennas increases.

A multiple-input multiple-output (MIMO) communication system employsmultiple (N_(T)) transmit antennas and multiple (N_(R)) receive antennasfor data transmission. A MIMO channel formed by the N_(T) transmit andN_(R) receive antennas may be decomposed into N_(S) independentchannels, with N_(S)≦min {N_(T), N_(R)}. Each of the N_(S) independentchannels may also be referred to as a spatial subchannel of the MIMOchannel and corresponds to a dimension. The MIMO system can provideimproved performance (e.g., increased transmission capacity) if theadditional dimensionalities created by the multiple transmit and receiveantennas are utilized.

For a full-rank MIMO channel, with N_(S)=N_(T)≦N_(R), N_(T) independentdata streams may be processed to provide N_(T) corresponding symbolstreams, which may then be transmitted from the N_(T) transmit antennas.The transmitted symbol streams may experience different channelconditions (e.g., different fading and multipath effects) and mayachieve different “received” signal-to-noise-and-interference ratios(SNRs) for a given amount of transmit power.

A successive interference cancellation (SIC) processing technique may beemployed at the receiver to process N_(R) received symbol streams fromthe N_(R) receive antennas to recover the N_(T) transmitted symbolstreams. A SIC receiver successively processes the received symbolstreams to recover one transmitted symbol stream at a time. For eachstage of the SIC receiver, spatial or space-time processing is initiallyperformed on the received symbol streams to provide a number of“detected” symbol streams, which are estimates of the transmitted symbolstreams. One of the detected symbol streams is then selected forrecovery, and this symbol stream is further processed to obtain acorresponding decoded data stream, which is an estimate of thetransmitted data stream corresponding to the symbol stream beingrecovered. Each recovered symbol stream (i.e., each detected symbolstream that is processed to recover the transmitted data) is associatedwith a particular “post-detection” SNR, which is the SNR achieved afterthe spatial or space-time processing to separate out this symbol stream.With SIC processing, the post-detection SNR of each recovered symbolstream is dependent on that stream's received SNR and the particularstage at which the symbol stream was recovered. The post-detection SNRof the recovered symbol stream determines the likelihood of correctlydecoding the symbol stream to obtain the corresponding data stream.

To improve performance, the transmitted symbol streams need to berecovered in a particular order such that the likelihood of correctlyrecovering all transmitted symbol streams is maximized. This goal ismade challenging for multipath channels that experience frequencyselective fading, which is characterized by different amounts ofattenuation across the system bandwidth. For a multipath channel, thepost-detection SNR varies across the system bandwidth. In this case,some metrics other than post-detection SNR would need to be derived andused to select the order for recovering the transmitted symbol streams.

There is therefore a need in the art for techniques to process multiplereceived symbol streams, using SIC processing, to recover multipletransmitted symbol streams in a particular order such that improvedperformance may be attained.

SUMMARY

Techniques are provided herein to process a number of received symbolstreams in a MIMO system with multipath channels such that improvedperformance may be achieved when using successive interferencecancellation (SIC) receiver processing. In an aspect, metrics indicativeof the quality or “goodness” of a detected symbol stream are provided.These metrics consider the frequency selective response of the multipathchannels used to transmit the symbol stream. In another aspect,techniques are provided to process the received symbol streams, usingSIC processing, to recover a number of transmitted symbol streams. Theorder in which the transmitted symbol streams are recovered isdetermined based on the metrics determined for the detected symbolstreams at each stage of the SIC processing.

In a specific embodiment, a method is provided for deriving a metricindicative of a received quality of a symbol stream transmitted via amultipath channel in a MIMO system. In accordance with the method, apost-detection SNR is estimated for each of a number of frequency binsused to transmit the symbol stream. The channel capacity of eachfrequency bin is then determined based on the post-detection SNR and anunconstrained or constrained capacity function. The channel capacitiesof all frequency bins are then accumulated to obtain an overall channelcapacity. An equivalent SNR for an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN)channel may also be determined based on the overall channel capacity andan inverse capacity function. The overall channel capacity and theequivalent SNR are both indicative of the received quality of the symbolstream. The metric may be used to select a specific symbol stream forrecovery at each stage of a SIC receiver.

In another specific embodiment, a method is provided for processing anumber of received symbol streams to recover a number of transmittedsymbol streams in a MIMO system with multipath channels. In accordancewith the method, the received symbol streams are processed to provide anumber of detected symbol streams. A metric is then determined for eachdetected symbol stream. The metric considers the frequency selectiveresponse of one or more transmission channels (e.g., frequency bins)used to transmit the detected symbol stream, and may be defined as theoverall channel capacity or the equivalent SNR. The detected symbolstream associated with the best metric is then selected for recovery(i.e., further processed to obtain a decoded data stream). A number ofmodified symbol streams, which have the estimated interference due tothe recovered symbol stream approximately removed, may then be derivedand further processed in similar manner to recover another symbolstream.

Various aspects and embodiments of the invention are described infurther detail below. The invention further provides methods,processors, transmitter units, receiver units, base stations, terminals,systems, and other apparatuses and elements that implement variousaspects, embodiments, and features of the invention, as described infurther detail below.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

The features, nature, and advantages of the present invention willbecome more apparent from the detailed description set forth below whentaken in conjunction with the drawings in which like referencecharacters identify correspondingly throughout and wherein:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a transmitter system and areceiver system in a MIMO-OFDM system;

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process for performing successiveinterference cancellation (SIC) processing on N_(R) received symbolstreams to recover N_(T) transmitted symbol streams;

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process for selecting aparticular detected symbol stream at stage l of a SIC receiver forrecovery;

FIG. 4 shows the performance of various SIC processing schemes;

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a transmitter unit in the MIMO-OFDM system;and

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a receiver unit that performs SICprocessing.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The techniques described herein for processing a number of receivedsymbol streams, using successive interference cancellation (SIC)processing, to recover a number of transmitted symbol streams may beimplemented in various multi-channel communication systems. Suchmulti-channel communication systems include multiple-inputmultiple-output (MIMO) communication systems, orthogonal frequencydivision multiplexing (OFDM) communication systems, MIMO systems thatemploy OFDM (i.e., MIMO-OFDM systems), and so on. For clarity, variousaspects and embodiments of the techniques are described specifically fora MIMO-OFDM system.

A MIMO system employs multiple (N_(T)) transmit antennas and multiple(N_(R)) receive antennas for data transmission, and is denoted as an(N_(T), N_(R)) system. A MIMO channel formed by the N_(T) transmit andN_(R) receive antennas may be decomposed into N_(S) independentchannels, with N_(S)≦min {N_(T), N_(R)}. Each of the N_(S) independentchannels may also be referred to as a spatial subchannel of the MIMOchannel.

A wideband MIMO system may experience frequency selective fading, whichis characterized by different amounts of attenuation across the systembandwidth. This frequency selective fading causes inter-symbolinterference (ISI), which is a phenomenon whereby each symbol in areceived signal acts as distortion to subsequent symbols in the receivedsignal. This distortion degrades performance by impacting the ability tocorrectly detect the received symbols.

OFDM may be used to combat ISI and/or for some other considerations. AnOFDM system effectively partitions the overall system bandwidth into anumber of (N_(F)) frequency subchannels, which may also be referred toas frequency bins or subbands. Each frequency subchannel is associatedwith a respective subcarrier (or tone) on which data may be modulated.The frequency subchannels of the OFDM system may also experiencefrequency selective fading, depending on the characteristics (e.g., themultipath profile) of the propagation path between the transmit andreceive antennas. With OFDM, the ISI due to frequency selective fadingmay be combated by repeating a portion of each OFDM symbol (i.e.,appending a cyclic prefix to each OFDM symbol), as is known in the art.

For a MIMO-OFDM system, N_(F) frequency subchannels are available oneach of the N_(S) spatial subchannels for data transmission. Eachfrequency subchannel of each spatial subchannel may be referred to as atransmission channel. N_(F)·N_(S) transmission channels are thenavailable in the MIMO-OFDM system for data transmission between theN_(T) transmit and N_(R) receive antennas.

For simplicity, the following description assumes that one “independent”data stream is transmitted on all N_(F) frequency subchannels from eachtransmit antenna. Each such data stream is independently processed(e.g., coded, interleaved, and symbol mapped) at the transmitter and maythus be independently recovered at the receiver.

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an embodiment of a transmitter system 110and a receiver system 150 in a MIMO system 100. Transmitter system 110and receiver system 150 may each be implemented in an access pointand/or an access terminal in the MIMO system.

At transmitter system 110, traffic data for a number of data streams isprovided from a data source 112 to a transmit (TX) data processor 114.In an embodiment, each data stream is transmitted over a respectivetransmit antenna. TX data processor 114 formats, codes, and interleavesthe traffic data for each data stream, based on a particular codingscheme selected for that data stream, to provide coded data.

The coded data for each data stream maybe multiplexed with pilot datausing, for example, time division multiplexing (TDM) or code divisionmultiplexing (CDM). The pilot data is typically a known data patternthat is processed in a known manner (if at all), and may be used at thereceiver system to estimate the channel response. The multiplexed pilotand coded data for each data stream is then modulated (i.e., symbolmapped), based on one or more modulation schemes (e.g., BPSK, OPSK,M-PSK, or M-QAM) selected for that data stream, to provide modulationsymbols. The data rate, coding, and modulation for each data stream maybe determined by controls provided by a controller 130.

The modulation symbols for all data streams are then provided to a TXOFDM processor 120, which further performs OFDM processing on themodulation symbols. OFDM processor 120 then provides N_(T) transmissionsymbol streams to N_(T) transmitters (TMTR) 122 a through 122 t. Eachtransmitter 122 receives and processes a respective transmission symbolstream to provide one or more analog signals, and further conditions(e.g., amplifies, filters, and upconverts) the analog signals to providea modulated signal suitable for transmission over the MIMO channel.N_(T) modulated signals from transmitters 122 a through 122 t are thentransmitted from N_(T) antennas 124 a through 124 t, respectively.

At receiver system 150, the transmitted modulated signals are receivedby N_(R) antennas 152 a through 152 r, and the received signal from eachantenna 152 is provided to a respective receiver (RCVR) 154 (which mayalso be referred to as a “front-end” unit). Each receiver 154 conditions(e.g., filters, amplifies, and downconverts) a respective receivedsignal, digitizes the conditioned signal to provide samples, and furtherprocesses the samples to provide a respective stream of receivedtransmission symbols. An RX OFDM processor 158 then performs thecomplementary OFDM processing on each received transmission symbolstream to provide a corresponding “received” symbol stream. The receivedsymbol stream for each receive antenna comprises a combination of N_(T)transmitted symbol streams, which are weighted by the complex channelgains between the N_(T) transmit antennas and that receive antenna.

An RX MIMO/data processor 160 then receives and processes the N_(R)received symbol streams from RX OFDM processor 158, using successiveinterference cancellation processing, to provide N_(T) decoded datastreams. The processing by RX MIMO/data processor 160 is described infurther detail below. In general, the processing by RX MIMO/dataprocessor 160 is complementary to that performed by TX data processor114 at transmitter system 110.

RX MIMO processor 160 may derive an estimate of the channel responsebetween the N_(T) transmit and N_(R) receive antennas for the N_(F)frequency subchannels (e.g., based on the pilot multiplexed with thetraffic data). The channel response estimate may be used to performspatial or space-time processing within processor 160. RX MIMO processor160 may further estimate the signal-to-noise-and-interference ratios(SNRs) of the frequency subchannels used for each symbol stream, andpossibly other channel characteristics, and provide these quantities toa controller 170. Controller 170 may provide channel state information(CSI), which may comprise various types of information regarding thecommunication link and/or the symbol streams. For example, the CSI maycomprise an “operating” SNR for the MIMO-OFDM system, which isindicative of the overall conditions of the communication link. The CSI(if it is to be reported) is processed by a TX data processor 178,modulated by a modulator 180, conditioned by transmitters 154 a through154 r, and transmitted back to transmitter system 110.

At transmitter system 110, the modulated signals from receiver system150 are received by antennas 124, conditioned by receivers 122,demodulated by a demodulator 140, and processed by a RX data processor142 to recover the CSI (if any) reported by the receiver system. Thereported CSI is then provided to controller 130 and may be used to (1)determine the coding and modulation schemes (and also possibly the datarates) to be used for the data streams and (2) generate various controlsfor TX data processor 114.

Controllers 130 and 170 direct the operation at the transmitter andreceiver systems, respectively. Memories 132 and 172 provide storage forprogram codes and data used by controllers 130 and 170, respectively.

For a MIMO-OFDM system, the response between the N_(T) transmit andN_(R) receive antennas may be described by an N_(R)×N_(T) channelimpulse response matrix, H. The elements of the matrix H are composed ofchannel impulse vectors {h _(i,j)}, for i=1, 2, . . . N_(R) and j=1, 2,. . . N_(T), where h _(i,j) describes the coupling between the j-thtransmit antenna and the i-th receive antenna. The vector h _(i,j) iscomposed of L taps and may be expressed as:h _(i,j) =[h _(i,j)(1) h _(i,j)(2) . . . h _(i,j)(L)]^(T),  Eq (1)where each of the L tap is modeled as a complex Gaussian coefficient.For a given (i,j) transmit-receive antenna pair, the signal transmittedfrom the j-th transmit antenna may be received by the i-th receiveantenna via a number of propagation paths, and the multipath componentsassociated with these propagation paths are assumed to be uncorrelated.This may be expressed as:E[h _(i,j)(p)h* _(i,j)(q)]=E[|h _(i,j)(p)|²]δ_(p-q),  Eq (2)where p and q represent two multipath components, h* is the complexconjugate of h, and δ_(p-q) is the Delta-Dirac function that is equal 1only if p=q and zero otherwise. Furthermore, it is assumed that thechannel responses for different transmit-receive antenna pairs areuncorrelated, i.e., E[h _(m,n) h _(i,j) ^(H)]=0, for different values ofm, n, i, and j, where h ^(H) represents the conjugate transpose of h.

The channel impulse response matrix, H(n), is a time-domainrepresentation of the MIMO channel response. A corresponding channelfrequency response matrix, H(k), may be obtained by performing a fastFourier transform (FFT) on H(n), which may be expressed as:H (k)=FFT[H (n)],  Eq(3)where k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1) and N_(F)≧L. In particular, an N_(F)—pointFFT may be performed on a sequence of N_(F) sampled values for a givenelement of H to derive a sequence of N_(F) coefficients for thecorresponding element of H. Each element of H is thus the FFT of acorresponding element of H. Each element of H is a vector of N_(F)complex values (i.e., h _(i,j)=[h_(i,j)(0) h_(i,j)(1) . . .h_(i,j)(N_(F)−1)]^(T)), which are representative of the frequencyresponse of the propagation path for a particular (i,j) transmit-receiveantenna pair. The matrix H may thus be viewed as comprising a sequenceof N_(F) matrixes H(k), for k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1), each of dimensionN_(R)×N_(T).

The model for the MIMO-OFDM system may be expressed as:y (k)= H (k) x (k)+ n , for k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1),  Eq (4)

-   where y(k) is a vector of N_(R) received symbols for the k-th    frequency subchannel (i.e., the “received” vector for tone k), which    may be represented as y(k)=[y₁(k) y₂(k) . . . y_(N) _(R) (k)]^(T),    where y_(i)(k) is the entry received by the i-th received antenna    for tone k and i∈{1, . . . , N_(R)};    -   x(k) is a vector of N_(T) modulation symbols for tone k (i.e.,        the “transmitted” vector), which may be represented as        x(k)=[x₁(k) x₂(k) . . . x_(N) _(T) (k)]^(T), where x_(j)(k) is        the modulation symbol transmitted from the j-th transmit antenna        for tone k and j∈{1, . . . , N_(T)};    -   H(k) is the channel frequency response matrix for the MIMO        channel for tone k; and    -   n is the additive white Gaussian noise (AWGN) with a mean vector        of 0 and a covariance matrix of Λ _(n)=σ² I, where 0 is a vector        of zeros, I is the identity matrix with ones along the diagonal        and zeros everywhere else, and σ² is the variance of the noise.        For simplicity, the effects of the OFDM processing at both the        transmitter and receiver (which may be negligible) are not shown        in equation (4).

Due to scattering in the propagation environment, the N_(T) symbolstreams transmitted from the N_(T) transmit antennas interfere with eachother at the receiver. In particular, a given symbol stream transmittedfrom one transmit antenna may be received by all N_(R) receive antennasat different amplitudes and phases. Each received symbol stream may theninclude a component of each of the N_(T) transmitted symbol streams. TheN_(R) received symbol streams would collectively include all N_(T)transmitted symbols streams. However, these N_(T) symbol streams aredispersed among the N_(R) received symbol streams.

At the receiver, various processing techniques may be used to processthe N_(R) received symbol streams to detect the N_(T) transmitted symbolstreams. These receiver processing techniques may be grouped into twoprimary categories:

-   spatial and space-time receiver processing techniques (which are    also referred to as equalization techniques), and-   “successive nulling/equalization and interference cancellation”    receiver processing technique (which is also referred to as    “successive interference cancellation” (SIC) processing technique).

In general, the spatial and space-time receiver processing techniquesattempt to separate out the transmitted symbol streams at the receiver.Each transmitted symbol stream may be “detected” by (1) combining thevarious components of this transmitted symbol stream in the N_(R)received symbol streams based on an estimate of the channel response and(2) removing (or canceling) the interference due to the othertransmitted symbol streams. Each receiver processing technique attemptsto either (1) decorrelate the individual transmitted symbol streams suchthat there is no interference from the other transmitted symbol streamsor (2) maximize the SNR of each detected symbol stream in the presenceof noise and interference from the other symbol streams. Each detectedsymbol stream is then further processed (e.g., demodulated,deinterleaved, and decoded) to obtain the corresponding data stream.

The successive interference cancellation receiver processing techniqueattempts to recover the transmitted symbol streams, one stream at eachstage, using spatial or space-time receiver processing. As each symbolstream is recovered, the interference caused by the recovered symbolstream on the remaining not yet recovered symbol streams is estimatedand canceled from the received symbol streams, and the “modified” symbolstreams are similarly processed by the next stage to recover the nexttransmitted symbol stream. If the symbol streams can be recoveredwithout error (or with minimal errors) and if the channel responseestimate is reasonably accurate, then cancellation of the interferencedue to the recovered symbol streams is effective. The later recoveredsymbol streams would then experience less interference and may be ableto achieve higher SNRs. In this way, higher performance may be achievedfor all recovered symbol streams (possibly except for the firstrecovered symbol stream). The SIC processing technique can outperformthe spatial/space-time receiver processing techniques if theinterference due to each recovered stream can be accurately estimatedand canceled. This requires error-free or low-error recovery of thetransmitted symbol streams, which can be achieved in part by the use ofan error-correction code for the symbol stream.

The following terminology is used herein:

-   “transmitted” symbol streams—the modulation symbol streams    transmitted from the transmit antennas;-   “received” symbol streams—the inputs to a spatial or space-time    processor in the first stage of a SIC receiver (see FIG. 6);-   “modified” symbol streams—the inputs to the spatial or space-time    processor in each subsequent stage of the SIC receiver;-   “detected” symbol streams—the outputs from the spatial or space-time    processor (up to N_(T)−l+1 symbol streams may be detected at stage    l); and-   “recovered” symbol stream—a symbol stream that is recovered at the    receiver to obtain a decoded data stream (only one detected symbol    stream is recovered at each stage).

FIG. 2 is a flow diagram of a process 200 for performing successiveinterference cancellation processing on N_(R) received symbol streams torecover N_(T) transmitted symbol streams. For simplicity, the followingdescription for FIG. 2 assumes that one independent data stream istransmitted on all frequency subchannels from each transmit antenna.

Initially, the index used to denote the stage number for the SICreceiver is set to 1 (i.e., l=1) (step 212). For each stage, the SICreceiver first performs spatial or space-time processing on the N_(R)received symbol streams to attempt to separate out the transmittedsymbol streams (step 214). For each stage, the spatial or space-timeprocessing can provide (N_(T)−l+1) detected symbol streams that areestimates of the transmitted symbol streams not yet recovered. One ofthe detected symbol streams is then selected for recovery (e.g., basedon a selection technique described below) (step 216). This detectedsymbol stream is then processed (e.g., demodulated, deinterleaved, anddecoded) to obtain a decoded data stream, which is an estimate of thetransmitted data stream corresponding to the symbol stream beingrecovered in this stage (step 218).

A determination is then made whether or not all transmitted symbolstreams have been recovered (step 220). If the answer is yes (i.e., ifl=N_(T)), then the receiver processing terminates. Otherwise, theinterference due to the just-recovered symbol stream is estimated (step222). In one implementation, the interference may be estimated by firstre-encoding the decoded data stream, interleaving the re-encoded data,and symbol mapping the interleaved data (using the same coding,interleaving, and modulation schemes used at the transmitter unit forthis data stream) to obtain a “remodulated” symbol stream, which is anestimate of the transmitted symbol stream just recovered. Theremodulated symbol stream is further processed (in either thetime-domain or frequency-domain) to derive N_(R) interferencecomponents, which are estimates of the interference due to thejust-recovered symbol stream on the remaining not-yet recovered symbolstreams.

The N_(R) interference components are then subtracted from the N_(R)received symbol streams to derive N_(R) modified symbol streams (step224). These modified symbol streams represent the streams that wouldhave been received if the just-recovered symbol stream had not beentransmitted (i.e., assuming that the interference cancellation waseffectively performed). The index l is then incremented (i.e., l=l+1)for the next stage (step 226).

The processing performed in steps 214 through 218 is then repeated onthe N_(R) modified symbol streams (instead of the N_(R) received symbolstreams) to recover another transmitted symbol stream. Steps 214 through218 are thus repeated for each transmitted symbol stream to berecovered, and steps 222 through 226 are performed if there is anothertransmitted symbol stream to be recovered.

For the first stage, the input symbol streams are the N_(R) receivedsymbol streams from the N_(R) received antennas. And for each subsequentstage, the input symbol streams are the N_(R) modified symbol streamsfrom the preceding stage. The processing for each stage proceeds insimilar manner. At each stage subsequent to the first stage, the symbolstreams recovered in the prior stages are assumed to be cancelled, sothe dimensionality of the matrix H or H is successively reduced by onecolumn for each subsequent stage.

The SIC processing thus includes a number of stages, one stage for eachtransmitted symbol stream to be recovered. Each stage recovers one ofthe transmitted symbol streams and (except for the last stage) cancelsthe interference due to this recovered symbol stream to derive themodified symbol streams for the next stage. Each subsequently recoveredsymbol stream thus experiences less interference and is able to achievea higher post-detection SNR than without the interference cancellation.The post-detection SNRs of the recovered symbol streams are dependent onthe particular order in which these symbol streams are recovered.

For the successive interference cancellation receiver processing, theinput symbol streams for the l-th stage (assuming that the interferencefrom the symbol streams recovered in the prior l−1 stages have beeneffectively canceled) may be expressed as:y ^(l)(k)= H ^(l)(k) x ^(l)(k)+ n , for k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1),  Eq (5)

-   where y ^(l)(k) is the N_(R)×1 modified symbol vector for tone k for    the l-th stage, i.e., y ^(l)(k)=[y₁ ^(l)(k) y₂ ^(l)(k) . . . y_(N)    _(R) ^(l)(k)]^(T), where y_(i) ^(l)(k) is the entry for the i-th    received antenna for tone k in the l-th stage;    -   x ^(l)(k) is the (N_(T)−l+1)×1 transmitted symbol vector for        tone k for the l-th stage, i.e.,

${{{\underset{\_}{x}}^{l}(k)} = \left\lbrack {{x_{j_{l}}(k)}\mspace{20mu}{x_{j_{l + 1}}(k)}\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu}{x_{j_{N_{T}}}(k)}} \right\rbrack^{T}},$where x_(j) _(n) (k) is the entry transmitted on tone k from transmitantenna j_(n);

-   -   H ^(l)(k) is the N_(R)×(N_(T)−l+1) channel frequency response        matrix for the MIMO channel for tone k for the l-th stage, which        is derived by removing l−1 columns in the matrix H(k)        corresponding to the l−1 previously recovered symbol streams,        i.e.,

${{{\underset{\_}{H}}^{l}(k)} = \left\lbrack {{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{j_{l}}(k)}\mspace{20mu}{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{j_{l + 1}}(k)}\mspace{14mu}\ldots\mspace{14mu}{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{j_{N_{T}}}(k)}} \right\rbrack},$where h _(j) _(n) (k) is the N_(R)×1 vector for the frequency responsefor tone k between transmit antenna j_(n) and the N_(R) receiveantennas; and

-   -   n is the additive white Gaussian noise.        For the l-th stage, the l−1 previously recovered symbol streams        are given indices of j₁, j₂, . . . j_(l−l) and the (N_(T)−l+1)        not-yet-recovered symbol streams are given indices of j_(l),        j_(l+1), . . . j_(N) _(T) . Equation (5) may be rewritten as:

$\begin{matrix}{{{\underset{\_}{y}}^{l}(k)} = {{\sum\limits_{n = l}^{N_{T}}{{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{j_{n}}(k)}{x_{j_{n}}(k)}}} + {\underset{\_}{n}.}}} & {{Eq}.\mspace{11mu}(6)}\end{matrix}$The vector y ^(l)(k), for k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1), represents the NRmodified symbol streams to be provided to the l-th stage of the SICreceiver.

The l-th stage initially performs spatial or space-time processing onthe N_(R) modified symbol streams to attempt to separate out the(N_(T)−l+1) transmitted symbol streams that have not yet been recovered.Each transmitted symbol stream may be “isolated” by filtering the N_(R)modified symbol streams with a filter matched to that symbol stream. Thematch filter for the symbol stream from transmit antenna m has a unitnorm vector, w _(m) (k), of N_(R) filter coefficients for each tone k,where k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1). To minimize the interference from theother (N_(T)−l) not-yet-recovered symbol streams on the symbol streamfrom transmit antenna m, the vector w _(m)(k) is defined to beorthogonal to {h _(j) _(n) (k)} (i.e., w _(m) ^(H)(k)h _(j) _(n) (k)=0),for n=l, l+1, . . . N_(T) where j_(n)≠m, and also for each tone k wherek=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1).

Since the transmitted symbol streams from the other (l−1) transmitantennas have already been recovered in prior stages and have beencanceled from the modified symbol streams y ^(l)(k) for the l-th stage,the vector w _(m)(k) does not need to be orthogonal to {h _(j) _(n)(k)}, for n=1, 2, . . . l−1 and k=0, 1, . . . (N_(F)−1). The matchfilter response w _(m)(k) may be derived based on various spatial orspace-time processing technique, as described below.

The detected symbol stream, {circumflex over (x)}_(m), from transmitantenna m may then be estimated as:{circumflex over (x)} _(m)(k)= w _(m) ^(H)(k) y ^(l)(k)= w _(m) ^(H)(k)h _(m)(k)x _(m)(k)+ w _(m) ^(H)(k) n.  Eq (7)The spatial or space-time processing for the l-th stage of the SICreceiver can provide (N_(T)−l+1) detected symbol streams, {{circumflexover (x)}_(m)} for m=j_(l), j_(l+1), . . . j_(N) _(T) . Each detectedsymbol stream includes estimates of the modulation symbols transmittedon all N_(F) frequency subchannels from a respective transmit antenna.The spatial processing effectively maps the MIMO system to a number ofparallel single-input single-output (SISO) systems. One of the(N_(T)−l+1) detected symbol streams at the l-th stage may then beselected for further processing to obtain the data for that symbolstream.

The selection of a specific one of the (N_(T)−l+1) detected symbolstreams to recover in each stage has a large impact on systemperformance. Each of the (N_(T)−l+1) detected symbol streams isassociated with a particular “quality” that determines the likelihood ofthat symbol stream being recovered correctly. Improved performance maybe achieved by recovering the detected symbol stream having the highestquality at each stage. This is because the recovered symbol stream isfurther processed to derive an estimate of the interference this symbolstream causes to all later recovered symbol streams. Thus, if theselected detected symbol stream cannot be recovered error-free, then anyerrors would propagate to the interference estimate. If the interferenceestimate is inaccurate (due to error propagation), then the recoveredsymbol stream cannot be effectively canceled out, and any uncanceledinterference would degrade the quality of all remainingnot-yet-recovered symbol streams.

In one conventional SIC processing scheme, which is often referred to asa “vertical” SIC processing scheme, one symbol stream is transmittedfrom each transmit antenna, the post-detection SNRs of all detectedsymbol streams are determined at the receiver for each stage, and thesymbol stream with the highest post-detection SNR is selected forfurther processing to recover the transmitted data. For a flat-fading(or AWGN) channel whereby the frequency response is approximatelyconstant across the system bandwidth, the post-detection SNR may beestimated for the entire system bandwidth and used in a straightforwardmanner to select a specific symbol stream for recovery. However, for amultipath channel with frequency selective fading, differentpost-detection SNRs may be achieved for different frequency bins acrossthe system bandwidth. In this case, the post-detection SNRs cannot beused directly to select symbol streams for recovery.

In another conventional SIC processing scheme, which is often referredto as a “diagonal” SIC processing scheme, each symbol stream istransmitted over multiple transmit antennas and frequency subchannels tomitigate the effects of frequency selective fading. For example, if theN_(F) modulation symbols for stream m for a given transmission symbolperiod is x _(m)=[x_(m)(0) x_(m)(1) . . . x_(m)(N_(F)−1)] and if N_(F)is an integer multiple of N_(T), then the modulation symbols for theN_(T) streams may be ordered as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{{\underset{\_}{X} = \begin{bmatrix}{x_{1}(0)} & {x_{N_{T}}(1)} & {x_{N_{T} - 1}(2)} & \cdots & {x_{2}\left( {N_{F} - 1} \right)} \\{x_{2}(0)} & {x_{1}(1)} & {x_{N_{T}}(2)} & \cdots & {x_{3}\left( {N_{F} - 1} \right)} \\{x_{3}(0)} & {x_{2}(1)} & {x_{1}(2)} & \cdots & {x_{4}\left( {N_{F} - 1} \right)} \\\vdots & \vdots & \vdots & ⋰ & \; \\{x_{N_{T}}(0)} & {x_{N_{T} - 1}(1)} & {x_{N_{T} - 2}(2)} & \cdots & {x_{1}\left( {N_{F} - 1} \right)}\end{bmatrix}},} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(8)}\end{matrix}$where each row of X represents the modulation symbols transmitted fromone transmit antenna and each column of X represents the modulationsymbols transmitted on one frequency subchannel. As shown in equation(8), the modulation symbols for a given stream is transmitted diagonallyover all transmit antennas and all frequency subchannels. This diagonalsymbol ordering attempts to provide similar post-detection SNRs for thedetected symbol streams at the receiver, so that any detected symbolstream may be selected for recovery at each stage. The diagonal SICprocessing scheme obviates the need to specifically select the bestdetected symbol stream for recovery at each stage. However, this schemealso provides sub-optimal performance.

Techniques are provided herein to select and recover the detected symbolstreams in a particular order, when using SIC processing, such thatimproved performance may be achieved. In an aspect, metrics indicativeof the quality or “goodness” of a detected symbol stream are provided.These metrics may be used for multipath channels with frequencyselective fading. In another aspect, techniques are provided to processthe received symbol streams, using SIC processing, to recover a numberof transmitted symbol streams. The particular order in which thetransmitted symbol streams are recovered is determined based on themetrics determined for the detected symbol streams at each stage of theSIC processing. These and other aspects and embodiments of thetechniques are described below.

In an aspect, metrics are provided herein that may be used asindications of the quality or goodness of a detected symbol stream.These metrics may be derived based on the post-detection SNR, some otherparameters, or any combination thereof.

Referring back to equation (7), the post-detection SNR of the symbol ontone k of detected symbol stream {circumflex over (x)}_(m), which isdenoted as SNR x_(m)(k), may be expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{{{SNR}_{m}(k)} = \frac{{{{{\underset{\_}{w}}_{m}^{H}(k)}{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{m}(k)}}}^{2}}{\sigma^{2}}},} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(9)}\end{matrix}$where the expected variance of the transmitted modulation symbolx_(m)(k) on tone k is equal to 1.0, and σ² is the variance of thepost-detection noise, n′=w _(m) ^(H)(k)n (where σ² is the variance of nand w _(m) is unit norm, and hence w _(m) ^(H) w _(m)=1).

The post-detection SNR for detected symbol {circumflex over (x)}_(m)(k)may be mapped to channel capacity based on either an unconstrained orconstrained capacity function. The unconstrained capacity function,ƒ(z), provides the absolute capacity of a SISO system, which istypically given as a theoretical maximum rate that may be reliablytransmitted for a given SNR (where the parameter z comprises thepost-detection SNR). The constrained capacity function, {tilde over(ƒ)}(z′), provides a “constrained” capacity of a SISO system, which isdependent on various system parameters such as the specific modulationscheme M_(m)(k) or constellation used to derive the modulation symbolx_(m)(k). The parameter z′ for {tilde over (ƒ)}(z′) comprises thepost-detection SNR, the modulation scheme, and possibly some otherfactor. The constrained capacity is lower than the absolute capacity.

The unconstrained capacity function, ƒ(z), which is also referred to asthe Shannon or theoretical capacity function, for a post-detection SNRof SNR_(m)(k) is given as:ƒ(z)=log₂[1+SNR_(m)(k)].  Eq (10)

The constrained capacity function, {tilde over (ƒ)}(z′), may beexpressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{\overset{\sim}{f}\left( z^{\prime} \right)} = {M_{m,k} - {\frac{1}{2^{M_{m,k}}}{\sum\limits_{i = 1}^{2^{M_{m,k}}}{E{\quad\left\lbrack {\log_{2}{\sum\limits_{j = 1}^{2^{M_{m,k}}}{\exp\left( {{- {{SNR}_{m}(k)}}\left( {{{a_{i} - a_{j}}}^{2} + {2\;{Re}\left\{ {\eta^{*}\left( {a_{i} - a_{j}} \right)} \right\}}} \right)} \right)}}} \right\rbrack}}}}}} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(11)}\end{matrix}$

-   where M_(m,k) is related to the modulation scheme M_(m)(k) (i.e.,    the modulation scheme M_(m)(k) corresponds to a 2^(M) ^(m,k) -ary    constellation (e.g., 2^(M) ^(m,k) -ary QAM), where each of the 2^(M)    ^(m,k) points in the constellation may be identified by M_(m,k)    bits);    -   a_(i) and a_(j) are the signal points in the 2^(M) ^(m,k) -ary        constellation; and    -   η is a complex Gaussian random variable with zero mean and a        variance of 1/SNR_(m)(k).        In equation (11), the expectation operation is taken with        respect to the variable η.

The unconstrained channel capacity, C_(m)(k), for tone k of transmitantenna m, which achieves a post-detection SNR of SNR_(m)(k) shown inequation (9), may then be expressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{C_{m}(k)} = {{\log_{2}\left( {1 + \frac{{{{{\underset{\_}{w}}_{m}^{H}(k)}{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{m}(k)}}}^{2}}{\sigma^{2}}} \right)}.}} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(12)}\end{matrix}$Since the N_(F) frequency subchannels used to transmit the modulationsymbols for symbol stream x_(m) are orthogonal and moreover thedifferent received symbols are statistically independent due toindependent noise realizations, the overall unconstrained channelcapacity, C_(m), of all N_(F) tones on transmit antenna m may be derivedby summing the unconstrained channel capacities of the individual tones,as follows:

$\begin{matrix}{C_{m} = {{\sum\limits_{k = 0}^{N_{F} - 1}{C_{m}(k)}} = {\sum\limits_{k = 0}^{N_{F} - 1}{{\log_{2}\left( {1 + \frac{{{{{\underset{\_}{w}}_{m}^{H}(k)}{{\underset{\_}{h}}_{m}(k)}}}^{2}}{\sigma^{2}}} \right)}.}}}} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(13)}\end{matrix}$

The constrained channel capacity, {tilde over (C)}_(m)(k), for tone k ontransmit antenna m may similarly be derived based on the constrainedcapacity function, {tilde over (ƒ)}(z), shown in equation (11). Theoverall constrained channel capacity, {tilde over (C)}_(m), for allN_(F) tones on transmit antenna m may then be derived by summing theconstrained channel capacities of the individual tones, similar to thatshown in equation (13).

The overall (unconstrained or constrained) channel capacity may bedetermined for all transmission channels used to transmit each of the(N_(T)−l+1) detected symbol streams at the l-th stage of the SICreceiver. The overall channel capacity associated with each detectedsymbol stream may then be mapped to an equivalent SNR for an AWGNchannel (with constant SNR affecting all tones) using an inversecapacity function, as follows:SNR _(m,equiv)=2^(C) ^(m) −1.  Eq (14)

A set of equivalent SNRs may be determined for the (N_(T)−l+1) detectedsymbol streams at the l-th stage of the SIC receiver, and may berepresented as S_(l)={SNR_(m,equiv), m=j_(l), j_(l+1), . . . j_(N) _(T)}. The detected symbol stream associated with the highest equivalent SNRfor the AWGN channel may then be selected for recovery. The index b_(l)of the selected detected symbol stream may be given as:

$\begin{matrix}{b_{l} = {{index}\;{\left( {\max\limits_{m}\left\{ {{SNR}_{m,{equiv}} \in S_{l}} \right\}} \right).}}} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(15)}\end{matrix}$

In an alternative embodiment, the symbol stream may be selected based onthe overall (unconstrained or constrained) channel capacities determinedfor the detected symbol streams. This is made possible by the fact thatthe capacity functions are monotonically increasing in SNR. A set ofoverall channel capacities may be determined for the (N_(T)−l+1)detected symbol streams at the l-th stage of the SIC receiver, usingequation (13), and may be represented as C_(l)={C_(m), m=j_(l), j_(l+1),. . . j_(N) _(T) }. The detected symbol stream associated with thehighest overall channel capacity may then be selected for recovery. Theindex b_(l) of the selected detected symbol stream may be given as:

$\begin{matrix}{b_{l} = {{index}\mspace{11mu}{\left( {\max\limits_{m}\left\{ {C_{m} \in C_{l}} \right\}} \right).}}} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(16)}\end{matrix}$

FIG. 3 is a flow diagram of an embodiment of a process 216 a forselecting a particular detected symbol stream for recovery at stage l ofthe SIC receiver. Process 216 a may be used for step 216 in FIG. 2.

Initially, the index n used to identify the symbol stream beingevaluated is set to the first detected symbol stream in stage l (i.e.,n=l) (step 312). In stage l, (N_(T)−l+1) symbol streams are detected bythe spatial or space-time processing and are labeled as detected symbolstreams {circumflex over (x)}_(j) _(l) through

x̂_(j_(N_(T))).

The post-detection SNR of each transmission channel used to transmitsymbol stream j_(n) is then determined (step 314). If one symbol streamis transmitted on all frequency subchannels of each transmit antenna,then the post-detection SNRs of all frequency subchannels used totransmit symbol stream j_(n) are determined. Each post-detection SNR isthen mapped to channel capacity based on a (unconstrained orconstrained) capacity function, such as that shown in equation (10) or(11) (step 316). The channel capacities of all transmission channelsused for symbol stream j_(n) are then accumulated to derive an overallchannel capacity, C_(j) _(n) , associated with detected symbol stream{circumflex over (x)}_(j) _(n) . The overall channel capacity, C_(j)_(n) , or the equivalent SNR, SNR_(j) _(n) _(,equiv), may be used as anindication of the quality or goodness of detected symbol stream{circumflex over (x)}_(j) _(n) (step 318).

A determination is then made whether or not all detected symbol streamsin stage l have been evaluated (step 320). If n<N_(T), indicating thatat least one detected symbol stream has not been evaluated, then theindex n is incremented (step 322), and the process returns to step 314to evaluate the next detected symbol stream. Otherwise, a set C_(l) of(N_(T)−l+1) overall channel capacities associated with the (N_(T)−l+1)detected symbol streams is formed (step 324). The detected symbol stream{circumflex over (x)}_(b), associated with the highest overall channelcapacity in the set C_(l) is then identified, as shown in equation (16)(step 326). This detected symbol stream {circumflex over (x)}_(b) _(l)is then selected for recovery (step 328). The stream selection processthen terminates.

FIG. 4 shows the performance of various SIC processing schemes. Theperformance is provided for a (2, 4) MIMO system with two transmitantennas and four receive antennas, and which uses 16-QAM with rate ½Turbo coding. Three SIC processing schemes are evaluated, which are:

-   1. Vertical SIC processing scheme—One symbol stream is transmitted    on all N_(F) frequency subchannels of each transmit antenna. At each    stage of the SIC receiver, the detected symbol stream from the    lowest numbered transmitted antenna is selected for recovery (i.e.,    the detected symbol stream from transmit antenna 1, then antenna 2,    and so on).-   2. Diagonal SIC processing scheme—Each symbol stream is transmitted    diagonally across all N_(F) frequency subchannels and all N_(T)    transmit antennas. The lowest numbered detected symbol stream is    selected for recovery at each stage of the SIC receiver (which is    comparable to random selection since all streams are approximately    equal).-   3. Ordered SIC processing scheme—One symbol stream is transmitted on    all N_(F) frequency subchannels of each transmit antenna, similar to    the vertical SIC processing scheme. However, at each stage of the    SIC receiver, the detected symbol stream associated with the highest    equivalent SNR or overall channel capacity is selected for recovery.

As shown in FIG. 4, the ordered SIC processing scheme provides improvedperformance over the conventional vertical and diagonal SIC processingschemes for all SNRs and all packet error rates. At 1% PER, the orderedSIC processing scheme provides approximately 1.8 dB gain over thediagonal SIC processing scheme and 2.4 dB gain over the vertical SICprocessing scheme. The ordered SIC scheme can thus (1) provide a lowerpacket error rate than the vertical and diagonal SIC processing schemesfor a given data rate, or (2) support a higher data rate than thevertical and diagonal SIC processing schemes for a given packet errorrate.

For both of the channel capacity and the equivalent SNR metrics shown inequations (13) and (14), respectively, the post-detection SNR of eachtransmission channel used for a given symbol stream is first mapped tochannel capacity by a capacity function. The capacities of alltransmission channels used for the symbol stream are then summed toobtain the metric for the symbol stream.

Other functions may also be used to map the post-detection SNRs to someintermediate values before combining these values to obtain the metric,and this is within the scope of the invention. For example, a table thatmaps post-detection SNRs to “supportable” throughputs may be derived.The supportable throughput may be related to channel capacity but maytake into consideration other system imperfections (degradations due toimplementation losses at the transmitter and receiver). This table maybe derived by empirical measurements, simulation, and so on, and may bedetermined for a particular target packet error rate (PER). As anotherexample, a function that approximates a log function may also be used.

The channel capacity and the equivalent SNR are two metrics that may beused as indications of the quality or goodness of the detected symbolstreams for a multipath channel. Each of these metrics determines theoverall quality of all transmission channels used for a given symbolstream. For the above example, since each symbol stream is transmittedover all N_(F) frequency subchannels of one transmit antenna, the metricis derived by summing the contributions from all N_(F) frequencysubchannels for this antenna. In general, each symbol stream may betransmitted over any combination of spatial and frequency subchannels(e.g., diagonally across all transmit antennas and frequency subchannelsas described above). Moreover, each symbol stream may be transmitted viaa different number of transmission channels. The metric for each symbolstream may then be derived by summing the contributions from all spatialand frequency subchannels used for the symbol stream.

Other metrics may also be used as indications of the quality or goodnessof the detected symbol streams, and this is within the scope of theinvention. For example, the post-detection SNRs for all transmissionchannels used for a given symbol stream may be weighted and then summedtogether to derive a metric for the symbol stream. The weighting may bedependent on the post-detection SNR value, and may approximate a logfunction. Alternatively, the weighting may be performed in stepwisemanner such that each range of post-detection SNRs is associated with arespective weight to be used for that range. The weighting may also beuniform (i.e., ones for all post-detection SNRs).

In some MIMO systems, very limited amount of information regarding theMIMO channel may be available to the transmitter. For example, only theoperating SNR, which may be the average or expected (but not necessarilythe instantaneous) received SNR at the receiver, may be available to thetransmitter. The operating SNR may be determined based on measurementsat the receiver and may be periodically provided to the transmitter, asdescribed above for FIG. 1. Alternatively, the operating SNR may be anestimate of the MIMO channel in which the transmitter is expected tooperate. In any case, the operating SNR is given or specified for theMIMO system.

If channel state information indicative of the current channelconditions is not available at the transmitter, then the transmitter isnot able to perform adaptive rate control for the transmitted datastreams. For example, if only the operating SNR is available at thetransmitter, then the same data rate may be used for all data streamstransmitted over the N_(T) transmit antennas. In this case, at eachstage of the SIC receiver, the detected symbol stream associated withthe best metric may then be selected for recovery.

As noted above, for the SIC receiver, the SNR of each recovered symbolstream is dependent on the stage at which the symbol stream isrecovered. In particular, for a flat-fading channel, the post-detectionSNR of the detected symbol stream selected in the l-th stage may beexpressed as:

$\begin{matrix}{{{{SNR}_{pd}(l)} = {\left( \frac{N_{R} - N_{T} + l}{N_{T}N_{R}} \right){SNR}_{rx}}},} & {{Eq}\mspace{14mu}(17)}\end{matrix}$where the received SNR may be expressed as

${{SNR}_{rx} = \frac{P_{tot}N_{R}}{\sigma^{2}}},$and P_(tot) is the total transmit power available for data transmission,which is uniformly distributed across the N_(T) transmit antennas suchthat P_(tot)/N_(T) is used for each transmit antenna. Equation (17)assumes that the same data rate is used for all transmitted datastreams.

Since the later recovered symbol streams achieve higher post-detectionSNRs on the average, a non-uniform distribution of data rates may beused for the transmitted data streams. One technique for determining aset of data rates for the transmitted data streams, when SIC processingis used at the receiver, is described in U.S. patent application Ser.No. 10/087,503, entitled “Data Transmission with Non-UniformDistribution of Data Rates for a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO)System,” filed Mar. 1, 2002, assigned to the assignee of the presentapplication and incorporated herein by reference. As used herein, anon-uniform distribution of data rates means that at least two datastreams have different data rates (and it is possible that some datastreams may have the same data rate).

For a MIMO system that transmits using a non-uniform distribution ofdata rates to achieve higher overall throughput, the equivalent SNR maybe determined for each detected symbol stream at stage l. However,instead of selecting the detected symbol stream with the highestequivalent SNR for recovery, the detected symbol stream with the highestmargin may be selected instead. This may be achieved by firstdetermining the SNR required for each detected symbol stream for aparticular PER based on its data rate. The required SNRs for a set ofdata rates for the particular PER may be determined and stored in atable. For each detected symbol stream, a margin is then computed as thedifference between the equivalent SNR and the required SNR. A set ofmargins for the detected symbol streams is then formed, and the detectedsymbol stream associated with the highest margin may then be selectedfor recovery. The metric used for selecting detected symbol streams forrecovery thus relates to the margins for these detected symbol streams.

For clarity, various aspects and embodiments of the inventive techniqueshave been described for a MIMO system that implements OFDM. In general,the technique described herein may be used to consider the frequencyselective fading nature of multipath channels when performing successiveinterference cancellation processing at the receiver, regardless ofwhether or not OFDM is used. The post-detection SNRs may be determinedfor different frequency bins, and the frequency selective nature of themultipath channels may be accounted for in the manner described above.

For simplicity, the inventive techniques have been describedspecifically for a MIMO system. These techniques may also be used forother multi-channel communication systems.

Transmitter System

FIG. 5 is a block diagram of a transmitter unit 500, which is anembodiment of the transmitter portion of transmitter system 110 inFIG. 1. Transmitter unit 500 includes (1) a TX data processor 114 a thatcodes and modulates each data stream in accordance with a particularcoding and modulation scheme to provide a corresponding modulationsymbol stream and (2) a TX OFDM processor 120 a that performs OFDMprocessing on each modulation symbol stream to provide a correspondingtransmission symbol stream. TX data processor 114 a and TX OFDMprocessor 120 a are one embodiment of TX data processor 114 and TX OFDMprocessor 120, respectively, in FIG. 1.

In an embodiment, the same data rate is used for all data streams to betransmitted on the N_(T) transmit antennas. In another embodiment, anon-uniform distribution of data rates is used for the data streams tobe transmitted on the N_(T) transmit antennas. For this embodiment, therate selection may be performed as described in the aforementioned U.S.patent application Ser. No. 10/087,503. In an embodiment, each of theN_(T) data streams to be transmitted on the N_(T) transmit antennas isindependently processed (i.e., separate coding and modulation on aper-antenna basis) to provide a corresponding modulation symbol stream.The same or different coding and modulation schemes may be used for theN_(T) data streams. The specific coding and modulation scheme to be usedfor each data stream may be determined by controls provided bycontroller 130.

In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 5, TX data processor 114 aincludes a demultiplexer 510, N_(T) encoders 512 a through 512 t, N_(T)channel interleavers 514 a through 514 t, and N_(T) symbol mappingelements 516 a through 516 t, (i.e., one set of encoder, channelinterleaver, and symbol mapping element for each data stream).Demultiplexer 510 demultiplexes the traffic data (i.e., the informationbits) into N_(T) data streams for the N_(T) transmit antennas. The N_(T)data streams are provided at data rates determined to be supported bythe communication link and indicated by a rate control provided bycontroller 130. Each data stream is provided to a respective encoder512.

Each encoder 512 codes a respective data stream based on the specificcoding scheme selected for that data stream to provide coded bits. Thecoding increases the reliability of the data transmission. The codingscheme may include any combination of cyclic redundancy check (CRC)coding, convolutional coding, Turbo coding, block coding, and so on. Thecoded bits from each encoder 512 are then provided to a respectivechannel interleaver 514, which interleaves the coded bits based on aparticular interleaving scheme. The interleaving provides time diversityfor the coded bits, permits the data to be transmitted based on anaverage SNR for the transmission channels (e.g., the frequencysubchannels) used for the data stream, combats fading, and furtherremoves correlation between coded bits used to form each modulationsymbol.

The coded and interleaved bits from each channel interleaver 514 areprovided to a respective symbol mapping element 516, which maps thesebits to form modulation symbols. The particular modulation scheme to beimplemented by each symbol mapping element 516 is determined by amodulation control provided by controller 130. Each symbol mappingelement 516 groups each set of q_(j) coded and interleaved bits to forma non-binary symbol, and further maps the non-binary symbol to aspecific point in a signal constellation corresponding to the selectedmodulation scheme (e.g., QPSK, M-PSK, M-QAM, or some other modulationscheme). Each mapped signal point corresponds to an M_(j)-ary modulationsymbol, where M_(j) corresponds to the specific modulation schemeselected for the j-th transmit antenna and M_(j)=2^(q) ^(i) . Pilot datamay also be symbol mapped to provide pilot symbols, which may then bemultiplexed (e.g., using TDM or CDM) with the modulation symbols for thecoded and interleaved bits. Symbol mapping elements 516 a through 516 tthen provide N_(T) streams of modulation symbols.

In the specific embodiment shown in FIG. 5, TX OFDM processor 120 aincludes N_(T) OFDM modulators, with each OFDM modulator including aninverse Fourier transform (IFFT) unit 522 and a cyclic prefix generator524. Each IFFT 522 receives a respective modulation symbol stream froman associated symbol mapping element 516. Each IFFT 522 groups each setof N_(F) modulation symbols to form a corresponding modulation symbolvector, and converts this vector into its time-domain representation(which is referred to as an OFDM symbol) using the inverse fast Fouriertransform. IFFT 522 may be designed to perform the inverse transform onany number of frequency subchannels (e.g., 8, 16, 32, . . . , N_(F), . .. ). For each OFDM symbol, cyclic prefix generator 524 repeats a portionof the OFDM symbol to form a corresponding transmission symbol. Thecyclic prefix ensures that the transmission symbol retains itsorthogonal properties in the presence of multipath delay spread, therebyimproving performance against deleterious path effects such as channeldispersion caused by frequency selective fading. Cyclic prefix generator524 then provides a stream of transmission symbols to an associatedtransmitter 122.

Each transmitter 122 receives and processes a respective transmissionsymbol stream to generate a modulated signal, which is then transmittedfrom the associated antenna 124.

The coding and modulation for MIMO systems with and without OFDM aredescribed in further detail in the following U.S. patent applications:

-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/993,087, entitled    “Multiple-Access Multiple-Input Multiple-Output (MIMO) Communication    System,” filed Nov. 6, 2001;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/854,235, entitled “Method and    Apparatus for Processing Data in a Multiple-Input Multiple-Output    (MIMO) Communication System Utilizing Channel State Information,”    filed May 11, 2001;-   U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/826,481 and 09/956,449, both    entitled “Method and Apparatus for Utilizing Channel State    Information in a Wireless Communication System,” respectively filed    Mar. 23, 2001 and Sep. 18, 2001;-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/776,075, entitled “Coding Scheme    for a Wireless Communication System,” filed Feb. 1, 2001; and-   U.S. patent application Ser. No. 09/532,492, entitled “High    Efficiency, High Performance Communications System Employing    Multi-Carrier Modulation,” filed Mar. 30, 2000.    These applications are all assigned to the assignee of the present    application and incorporated herein by reference. Other designs for    the transmitter unit may also be implemented and are within the    scope of the invention.

Receiver System

FIG. 6 is a block diagram of a receiver unit 600, which is oneembodiment of the receiver portion of receiver system 150 in FIG. 1.Receiver unit 600 includes a RX MIMO/data processor 160 a that performsSIC processing.

Referring back to FIG. 1, the signals transmitted from N_(T) transmitantennas are received by each of N_(R) antennas 152 a through 152 r androuted to a respective receiver 154. Each receiver 154 conditions (e.g.,filters, amplifies, and downconverts) a respective received signal,digitizes the conditioned signal to provide samples, and furtherprocesses (e.g., data demodulates) the samples to provide a stream ofreceived transmission symbols. The received transmission symbol streamsfrom all receivers 154 are then provided to RX OFDM processor 158.

RX OFDM processor 158 includes a cyclic prefix removal element and anFFT processor. For each received transmission symbol stream, the cyclicprefix removal element removes the cyclic prefix previously inserted ineach transmission symbol by the transmitter system to provide acorresponding received OFDM symbol. The FFT processor then transformseach received OFDM symbol to provide a vector of N_(F) received symbolsfor the N_(F) frequency subchannels used for that symbol period. RX OFDMprocessor 158 then provides N_(R) received symbol streams to RXMIMO/data processor 160 a.

In the embodiment shown in FIG. 6, RX MIMO/data processor 160 a includesa number of successive (i.e., cascaded) receiver processing stages 610 athrough 610 t, one stage for each of the symbol streams to be recovered.Each receiver processing stage 610 (except for the last stage 610 t)includes a spatial processor 620, an RX data processor 630, and aninterference canceller 640. The last stage 610 t includes only spatialprocessor 620 t and RX data processor 630 t.

For the first stage 610 a, spatial processor 620 a receives andprocesses the N_(R) received symbol streams (denoted as a vector y ¹)from RX OFDM processor 158 based on a particular spatial or space-timereceiver processing technique to provide N_(T) detected symbol streams(denoted as a vector {circumflex over (x)}¹). One of the detected symbolstreams is then selected for recovery based on the selection techniquedescribed above. The selected detected symbol stream, {circumflex over(x)}_(b) _(i) , is then provided to RX data processor 630 a. Processor630 a further processes (e.g., demodulates, deinterleaves, and decodes)this symbol stream {circumflex over (x)}_(b) ₁ to provide acorresponding decoded data stream, which is an estimate of thetransmitted data stream corresponding to the symbol stream beingrecovered. Spatial processor 620 a may further provide an estimate ofthe channel frequency response matrix H, which is used to perform thespatial or space-time processing for all stages.

For the first stage 610 a, interference canceller 640 a also receivesthe N_(R) received symbol streams from receivers 154 (i.e., the vector y¹). Interference canceller 640 a further receives the decoded datastream from RX data processor 630 a and performs the processing (e.g.,encoding, interleaving, and symbol mapping) to derive a remodulatedsymbol stream, {hacek over (x)}_(b) ₁ , which is an estimate of thesymbol stream just recovered. The remodulated symbol stream {hacek over(x)}_(b) ₁ is further processed in the time or frequency domain toderive estimates of the interference components (denoted as aninterference vector i ¹) due to the just-recovered symbol stream. Forthe time-domain implementation, the remodulated symbol stream {hacekover (x)}_(b) ₁ is OFDM processed to obtain a transmission symbolstream, which is further convolved by each of N_(R) elements in achannel impulse response vector h _(b) ₁ to derive N_(R) interferencecomponents due to the just-recovered symbol stream. The vector h _(b) ₁is a column of the channel impulse response matrix, H, corresponding totransmit antenna b₁ used for the just-recovered symbol stream. Thevector h _(b) ₁ includes N_(R) elements that define the channel impulseresponse between transmit antenna b₁ and the N_(R) receive antennas. Forthe frequency-domain implementation, the remodulated symbol stream{hacek over (x)}_(b) ₁ is multiplied by each of N_(R) elements in achannel frequency response vector h _(b) ₁ (which is a column of thematrix H) to derive N_(R) interference components. The interferencecomponents i ¹ are then subtracted from the first stage's input symbolstreams y ¹ to derive N_(R) modified symbol streams (denoted as a vectory ²), which include all but the subtracted (i.e., cancelled)interference components. The N_(R) modified symbol streams are thenprovided to the next stage.

For each of the second through last stages 610 b through 610 t, thespatial processor for that stage receives and processes the N_(R)modified symbol streams from the interference canceller in the precedingstage to derive the detected symbol streams for that stage. For eachstage, the detected symbol stream associated with the best metric isselected and processed by the RX data processor to provide thecorresponding decoded data stream. For each of the second throughsecond-to-last stages, the interference canceller in that stage receivesthe N_(R) modified symbol streams from the interference canceller in thepreceding stage and the decoded data stream from the RX data processorwithin the same stage, derives the N_(R) interference components due tothe symbol stream recovered by that stage, and provides N_(R) modifiedsymbol streams for the next stage.

The successive interference cancellation receiver processing techniqueis described in further detail in the aforementioned U.S. patentapplication Ser. Nos. 09/993,087 and 09/854,235.

The spatial processor 620 in each stage implements a particular spatialor space-time receiver processing technique. The specific receiverprocessing technique to be used is typically dependent on thecharacteristics of the MIMO channel, which may be characterized aseither non-dispersive or dispersive. A non-dispersive MIMO channelexperiences flat fading (i.e., approximately equal amount of attenuationacross the system bandwidth), and a dispersive MIMO channel experiencesfrequency-selective fading (e.g., different amounts of attenuationacross the system bandwidth).

For a non-dispersive MIMO channel, spatial receiver processingtechniques may be used to process the received signals to provide thedetected symbol streams. These spatial receiver processing techniquesinclude a channel correlation matrix inversion (CCMI) technique (whichis also referred to as a zero-forcing technique) and a minimum meansquare error (MMSE) technique. Other spatial receiver processingtechniques may also be used and are within the scope of the invention.

For a dispersive MIMO channel, time dispersion in the channel introducesinter-symbol interference (ISI). To improve performance, a receiverattempting to recover a particular transmitted symbol stream would needto ameliorate both the interference (or “crosstalk”) from the othertransmitted symbol streams as well as the ISI from all symbol streams.To combat both crosstalk and ISI, space-time receiver processingtechniques may be used to process the received symbol streams to providethe detected symbol streams. These space-time receiver processingtechniques include a decision feedback equalizer (DFE), a MMSE linearequalizer (MMSE-LE), a maximum-likelihood sequence estimator (MLSE), andso on.

The CCMI, MMSE, DFE, and MMSE-LE techniques are described in detail inthe aforementioned U.S. patent application Ser. Nos. 09/993,087,09/854,235, 09/826,481, and 09/956,44.

The techniques described herein for processing the received symbolstreams to recover the transmitted symbol streams may be implemented byvarious means. For example, these techniques may be implemented inhardware, software, or a combination thereof. For a hardwareimplementation, the elements used to derive the metrics for the detectedsymbol streams and/or perform the successive interference cancellationprocessing may be implemented within one or more application specificintegrated circuits (ASICs), digital signal processors (DSPs), digitalsignal processing devices (DSPDs), programmable logic devices (PLDs),field programmable gate arrays (FPGAs), processors, controllers,micro-controllers, microprocessors, other electronic units designed toperform the functions described herein, or a combination thereof.

For a software implementation, certain aspects of the symbol streamselection and successive interference cancellation processing may beimplemented with modules (e.g., procedures, functions, and so on) thatperform the functions described herein. The software codes may be storedin a memory unit (e.g., memory 172 in FIG. 1) and executed by aprocessor (e.g., controller 170). The memory unit may be implementedwithin the processor or external to the processor, in which case it canbe communicatively coupled to the processor via various means as isknown in the art.

Headings are included herein for reference and to aid in locatingcertain sections. These headings are not intended to limit the scope ofthe concepts described therein under, and these concepts may haveapplicability in other sections throughout the entire specification.

The previous description of the disclosed embodiments is provided toenable any person skilled in the art to make or use the presentinvention. Various modifications to these embodiments will be readilyapparent to those skilled in the art, and the generic principles definedherein may be applied to other embodiments without departing from thespirit or scope of the invention. Thus, the present invention is notintended to be limited to the embodiments shown herein but is to beaccorded the widest scope consistent with the principles and novelfeatures disclosed herein.

1. A method for processing a plurality of received symbol streams torecover a plurality of transmitted symbol streams, comprising:processing the received symbol streams to provide a plurality ofdetected symbol streams, wherein each detected symbol stream is anestimate of a corresponding transmitted symbol stream; determining ametric for each of the plurality of detected symbol streams as afunction of a frequency selective response of one or more transmissionchannels used to transmit a detected symbol stream; selecting thedetected symbol stream associated with a best metric for recovery; andprocessing the selected detected symbol stream to recover a transmittedsymbol stream and obtain data transmitted for the transmitted symbolstream.
 2. The method of claim 1, further comprising: deriving aplurality of modified symbol streams as a function of estimatedinterference due to the recovered transmitted symbol streamapproximately removed; and processing the modified symbol streams torecover another transmitted symbol stream.
 3. The method of claim 1,wherein the act of determining the metric for each detected symbolstream is a function of the overall channel capacity of the one or moretransmission channels used to transmit the detected symbol stream. 4.The method of claim 1, wherein the act of determining the metric foreach detected symbol stream is a function of an equivalentsignal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) for an Additive WhiteGaussian Noise (AWGN) channel that models the one or more transmissionchannels used to transmit the detected symbol stream.
 5. The method ofclaim 1, wherein the metric for each detected symbol stream isdetermined based on post-detection signal-to-noise-and-interferenceratios (SNRs) of the one or more transmission channels used to transmitthe detected symbol stream.
 6. The method of claim 5, wherein theplurality of detected symbol streams corresponds to a plurality of datastreams with same rates.
 7. The method of claim 5, wherein the pluralityof detected symbol streams corresponds to a plurality of data streamswith a non-uniform distribution of rates.
 8. The method of claim 7,wherein the metric for each detected symbol stream further considers arate of a corresponding data stream.
 9. The method of claim 7, whereinthe metric for each detected symbol stream relates to a margin between arequired signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) and an equivalentSNR for an Additive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel that models theone or more transmission channels used to transmit the detected symbolstream.
 10. The method of claim 9, wherein the detected symbol streamwith a highest margin is selected for recovery.
 11. The method of claim10, wherein the received symbol streams are processed based on spatialor space-time receiver processing to provide the plurality of detectedsymbol streams.
 12. The method of claim 1, wherein the determining themetric for each detected symbol stream includes: estimating apost-detection signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) of each ofthe one or more transmission channels used to transmit the detectedsymbol stream; determining a channel capacity of each transmissionchannel based on the post-detection SNR; and accumulating channelcapacities of the one or more transmission channels to obtain an overallchannel capacity associated with the detected symbol stream; wherein thedetected symbol stream associated with a highest overall channelcapacity is selected for recovery.
 13. The method of claim 12, whereinthe channel capacity of each transmission channel is determined based onan unconstrained capacity function.
 14. The method of claim 12, whereinthe channel capacity of each transmission channel is determined based ona constrained capacity function.
 15. The method of claim 12, wherein thedetermining the metric for each detected symbol stream further includes:determining an equivalent SNR for an Additive White Gaussian Noise(AWGN) channel based on the overall channel capacity associated with thedetected symbol stream; wherein the detected symbol stream associatedwith a highest equivalent SNR is selected for recovery.
 16. The methodof claim 1, wherein the method implements orthogonal frequency divisionmultiplexing (OFDM).
 17. The method of claim 16, wherein the determiningthe metric for each detected symbol stream includes: estimating apost-detection signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) of eachfrequency subchannel used to transmit the detected symbol stream;determining a channel capacity of each frequency subchannel based on thepost-detection SNR; and accumulating channel capacities for allfrequency subchannels used to transmit the detected symbol stream toobtain an overall channel capacity associated with the detected symbolstream; wherein the detected symbol stream associated with a highestoverall channel capacity is selected for recovery.
 18. The method ofclaim 17, wherein the determining the metric for each detected symbolstream further includes: determining an equivalent SNR for an AdditiveWhite Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel based on the overall channelcapacity associated with the detected symbol stream; wherein thedetected symbol stream associated with a highest equivalent SNR isselected for recovery.
 19. The method of claim 16, wherein the pluralityof transmitted symbol streams is derived for a plurality of transmitteddata streams having same rates.
 20. The method of claim 16, wherein theplurality of transmitted symbol streams is derived for a plurality oftransmitted data streams having different rates.
 21. The method of claim1, wherein each of the plurality of transmitted symbol streams istransmitted on all frequency subchannels of a respective transmitantenna.
 22. A method for processing a plurality of received symbolstreams to recover a plurality of transmitted symbol streams,comprising: processing the received symbol streams to provide aplurality of detected symbol streams; determining a metric for each ofthe plurality of detected symbol streams as a function of a frequencyselective response of a plurality of frequency subehannels used totransmit a detected symbol stream; selecting the detectcd symbol streamassociated with a best metric for recovery; processing the selecteddetected symbol stream to recover a transmitted symbol stream and obtaindata transmitted for the transmitted symbol stream; deriving a pluralityof modified symbol streams having estimated interference due to therecovered transmitted symbol stream approximately removed; andprocessing the modified symbol streams to recover another transmittedsymbol stream.
 23. The method of claim 22, wherein the determining themetric for each detected symbol stream includes: estimating apost-detection signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) of eachfrequency subchannel used to transmit the detected symbol stream;determining a channel capacity of each frequency subchannel based on thepost-detection SNR; and accumulating channel capacities for theplurality of frequency subchannels used to transmit the detected symbolstream to obtain an overall channel capacity associated with thedetected symbol stream; wherein the dctectcd symbol stream associatedwith a highest overall channel capacity is selected for recovery. 24.The method of claim 23, wherein the act of determining the metric foreach of the plurality of symbol streams further comprises determining ametric as a function of the frequency selective response of a subset ofthe plurality of frequency subchannels.
 25. A method for deriving ametric indicative of a received quality of a symbol stream transmittedvia a multipath channel, comprising: estimating a post-detectionsignal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) of each of a plurality offrequency bins used to transmit the symbol stream; determining a channelcapacity of each frequency bin based on the post-detection SNR; andaccumulating channel capacities of the plurality of frequency bins toobtain an overall channel capacity indicative of the received quality ofthe symbol stream.
 26. The method of claim 25, wherein thepost-detection SNR is indicative of a received signal quality.
 27. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the channel capacity of each frequency binis determined based on an unconstrained capacity function.
 28. Themethod of claim 25, wherein the channel capacity of each frequency binis determined based on a constrained capacity function.
 29. The methodof claim 25, further comprising: determining an equivalent SNR for anAdditive White Gaussian Noise (AWGN) channel based on the overallchannel capacity, wherein the equivalent SNR is indicative of thereceived quality of the symbol stream.
 30. The method of claim 29,further comprising: determining a required SNR for the symbol stream;and determining a margin between the required SNR and the equivalent SNRas the metric for the symbol stream.
 31. The method of claim 29, whereinthe metric is used to select a specific detected symbol stream at aparticular stage of a successive interference cancellation receiver forrecovery.
 32. A digital signal processing device (DSPD) capable ofinterpreting digital information to: process a plurality of receivedsymbol streams to provide a plurality of detected symbol streams,wherein each detected symbol stream is an estimate of a correspondingtransmitted symbol stream; determine a metric for each detected symbolstream, wherein the metric considers a frequency selective response ofone or more transmission channels used to transmit a detected symbolstream; select the detected symbol stream associated with a best metricfor recovery; process the selected detected symbol stream to recover atransmitted symbol stream and obtain data transmitted for thetransmitted symbol stream; derive a plurality of modified symbol streamshaving estimated interference due to the recovered transmitted symbolstream approximately removed; and process the modified symbol streams torecover another transmitted symbol stream.
 33. An apparatus, comprising:means for processing a plurality of received symbol streams to provide aplurality of detected symbol streams; means for determining a metric foreach detected symbol stream, wherein the metric is a function of afrequency selective response of one or more transmission sub-channelsused to transmit a detected symbol stream; means for selecting thedetected symbol stream associated with a best metric for recovery; andmeans for processing the selected detected symbol stream to recover thea transmitted symbol stream and obtain data transmitted for thetransmitted symbol stream.
 34. The apparatus of claim 33, furthercomprising: means for deriving a plurality of modified symbol streamshaving estimated interference from the recovered transmitted symbolstream approximately removed; and means for processing the modifiedsymbol streams to recover another transmitted symbol stream.
 35. Theapparatus of claim 33, further comprising: means for estimating apost-detection signal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) of each ofthe one or more transmission sub-channels used to transmit the detectedsymbol stream; means for determining a channel capacity of eachtransmission sub-channel based on the post-detection SNR; and means foraccumulating channel capacities of the one or more transmissionsub-channels to obtain an overall channel capacity associated with thedetected symbol stream; wherein the detected symbol stream associatedwith a highest overall channel capacity is selected for recovery. 36.The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the plurality of detected symbolstreams correspond to a plurality of data streams with same rates. 37.The apparatus of claim 33, wherein the plurality of detected symbolstreams correspond to a plurality of data streams with a non-uniformdistribution of rates.
 38. The apparatus of claim 37, wherein the metricfor each detected symbol stream further considers a rate of acorresponding data stream.
 39. A receiver unit in a wirelesscommunication system, comprising: a spatial processor operative toprocess a plurality of received symbol streams based on successiveinterference cancellation (SIC) processing, wherein for each stage ofthe SIC processing, to perform processing on a plurality of input symbolstreams for a stage to provide one or more detected symbol streams,wherein the input symbol streams for a first stage are the receivedsymbol streams, and wherein each detected symbol stream is an estimateof a corresponding transmitted symbol stream; a data processor operativeto, for each stage of the SIC processing, process a selected detectedsymbol stream to recover a transmitted symbol stream and obtain datatransmitted for the transmitted symbol stream; and a controlleroperative to, for each stage of the SIC processing except for a laststage, determine a metric for each of a plurality of detected symbolstreams, select a detected symbol stream associated with a best metricfor recovery in the stage, and provide an indication of the selecteddetected symbol stream for the stage, wherein the metric for eachdetected symbol stream is a function of a frequency selective responseof one or more transmission channels used to transmit the detectedsymbol stream.
 40. The receiver unit of claim 39, wherein the controlleris further operative to determine the metric, for each detected symbolstream by receiving an estimated post-detectionsignal-to-noise-and-interference ratio (SNR) of each of the one or moretransmission channels used to transmit the detected symbol stream,determine a channel capacity of each transmission channel based on theestimated post-detection SNR, and accumulate channel capacities of theone or more transmission channels to obtain an overall channel capacityassociated with the detected symbol stream.
 41. The receiver unit ofclaim 39, wherein the plurality of detected symbol streams for eachstage except for the last stage corresponds to a plurality of datastreams with same rates.
 42. The receiver unit of claim 39, wherein theplurality of detected symbol streams for each stage except for the laststage corresponds to a plurality of data streams with a non-uniformdistribution of rates.
 43. The receiver unit of claim 39, wherein themetric for each detected symbol stream further considers a rate of acorresponding data stream.